“If suddenly there were 20,000 people here tomorrow, it will go off.”
The Associated Press
Do you have to be spit on by protesters? Read the answer here.
SYDNEY, Australia — Riot police arrested two protesters and scuffled with scores of others around a downtown Sydney park Friday as demonstrations escalated against U.S. President George W. Bush and the Pacific Rim leaders’ summit he is attending.
 Several Sydney, Australia policemen subdue a protestor following his arrest Saturday. (AP Photo/David Longstreath) |
Police standing shoulder-to-shoulder pushed and shoved anyone coming near the Sheraton on the Park hotel. The surge coincided with a sudden downpour, and it wasn’t clear if some of the protesters were simply trying to seek cover at the hotel.
More than 200 police officers pushed protesters and bystanders off the street outside the hotel and onto crowded sidewalks. One man wearing inline skates grappled with several police officers in the street outside the hotel before skating away.
Police confirmed that one man was arrested but gave no reason. Witnesses said he was arrested for swearing through a bullhorn at a group of police as they shoved protesters off a sidewalk into the park.
Protesters later drifted back to Hyde Park, where up to 20,000 demonstrators are expected to gather Saturday for a rally. Activists are gathering to demonstrate against Bush, the Iraq war and a host of other issues, from climate change to workers’ rights.
“If suddenly there were 20,000 people here tomorrow and police show the same attitude, it will go off,” said Graeme Ulbrick, a lawyer who attended the protest Friday as a human rights monitor.
Senior police officers at the scene declined to comment.
Earlier, police arrested a protester when a small band of Bush supporters marched on the demonstration in the park. The protester was tackled by police after he squirted ketchup on a pro-Bush banner, witnesses said. The eight male Bush supporters left the scene soon afterward.
The 37-year-old man was charged with two counts of assaulting police and was released on bail to appear in court next month, a police statement said.
Top riot squad officer, Chief Superintendent Stephen Cullen, warned this week that he expected riots Saturday and a level of violence not previously seen in Sydney.
But Alex Bainbridge, an organizer of the Stop Bush Coalition rally, promised a peaceful protest Saturday and accused police of attempting to scare demonstrators away.